Plenty of rugby to look forward to in 2024

• By Steven White & Scott MacLean

The rugby off-season rolls on.

With the holiday period coming to a close, all community clubs and various represeantive teams and academies will soon be in full preparation mode ahead of the 2024 season.

Below are some themes in rugby ahead of the 2024 rugby season from the ground up – in no particular order and by no means a comprehensive list.

HAMMERHEAD HEAVEN

Can Paremata-Plimmerton maintain their ascendancy from 2023? Wellington’s northernmost club was the story of Wellington club rugby in 2023, deservedly winning their maiden first round Swindale Shield and drawing big crowds to all their home games at the ‘Shark Tank’ at Ngati Toa Domain in the process. They fell at the last hurdle to Oriental-Rongotai in the Jubilee Cup, so will that loss spur them on to greater deeds in 2024?

Paremata-Plimmerton’s travelling fans celebrate their Swindale Shield success in the final round last season.

SPECTATOR FRIENDLY

For spectators, last season was often testing. Porirua 2 is not a great Premier ground, made more difficult when it’s raining or windy or both (Norths v OBU anyone). The Petone Recreation Ground grandstand was abruptly yellow stickered and yellow carded midway through last season. Maidstone Park’s brand-new facilities and stand was a construction site and a tease for fans down at ground level. Of these three, Jerry Collins Stadium is back in 2024 and Maidstone Park is set to open. The Petone Rec stand could be upgraded to a red card. A fourth club, Old Boys University, hasn’t confirmed its home digs at the time of publishing this.

AXEMEN ASCENDANCY?

News late in 2023 that Marist St Pat’s 200-game first-five turned coach Fa’atonu Fili is taking the head coaching role at the Wellington Axemen this season.  The Axemen didn’t have enough players to field a second XV in the Premier last season, so both an increase in overall player numbers and a lift in competitiveness in the Swindale Shield will be two things to watch for out of Hataitai Park. In regards to both, how this affects the dynamic and balance of the eastern suburbs clubs – if at all – remains to be seen. Fili is a MSP legend and also has ties with Ories, so it is a fair question to ask which players from these clubs will be joining him at Wellington this year. Similarly, MSP has a new head coach in Sean Horan and loyal MSP members as assistants in Edwin Meachen and  Dan Kauraka so will be hoping for a big 2024.

Perhaps more teams and increased competitiveness at the Wellington Football Club this year?

THE YEAR OF THE RAM

The Upper Hutt Rams were one of the big-risers in 2023 before becoming the first victim of the late-season Ories buzzsaw. It’s been nearly 20 years since they lifted Premier silverware – the Swindale in 2005 – so can they put the pieces of the puzzle together next season? There’s plenty of experience and young talent at Maidstone Park, a wealth of knowledge in coaches Matt Lee and Adam Campbell and new DOR Dion Waller, and shiny new facilities about to come on stream which make them an attractive proposition. The big question around them though is their captain and talisman Toby Crosby and whether the rumours that he’s switched to rugby league and the Warriors are correct.

Let there be light. The UR Rams after their 12th round Swindale Shield win over OBU in 2023, in front of the backdrop of their half built new stand and facilities. 

WOMEN’S RUGBY

Was 2023 a changing of the guard in the Women’s game? Dominated for the past decade by Ories and Norths, both found themselves as spectators this year as Marist St Pat’s and Petone played out the Tia Paasi Memorial final. So, here’s five questions to ponder:

• Are MSP now THE team to beat?
• Will the Villagers continue their rise and finally claim top spot?
• Are Norths and Ories spent forces (for the moment)?
• Will the Hutt clubs benefit from the talent coming through Sacred Heart College and Wainuiomata High?
• And what of the talk that the Wairarapa Women’s side and a new one from the Kapiti Coast will play in Wellington in 2024?

Marist St Pat’s on fulltime winning the 2023 Tia Paasi Memorial final.

COOKED CHOOK

Outside of the Premier clubs Stokes Valley thrives and Eastbourne hold true, but the same cannot be said of Western Suburbs. Once one of the region’s biggest clubs, winners of the Jubilee Cup in 1998, and the holders of the history of the Athletic, Onslow, and Karori clubs, the Roosters have been in steady decline since being evicted from the Premier ranks in 2013 and last year lost their Under 85s, leaving just their Reserve Grade Mixed Veges side standing. Are they done, or is there still a glimmer of hope of a revival?

Happier days for the Wests Roosters, beating Avalon in 2007.

YOUNG GUNS RISING

Always much anticipation at the start of the year for which school leavers will quickly rise through to the club rugby ranks. Of course, many will start their careers off in the Colts teams, but some will be ushered into Premier rugby in 2024. Who will be these players?  And as always, there will be players who start their club rugby careers in 2024 who may have been unheralded at school or late bloomers in physicality and skills or by coaching, who will go on to be household names in senior club rugby in future years. The competition has always been littered with second XV school players in this category. Lookout for our annual school leavers to watch article nearer the start of the season kicking off.

The two teams enter the arena for last year’s final – many of these players will be joining Senior rugby in Wellington in 2024.

WRFU THEMED ROUNDS

The WRFU recently promoted a new initiative for 2024: themed rounds. They have selected three rounds for this. The ‘Schools Round’ (Round 3 of the Swindale Shield on 20 April), the ‘Mother’s Day Round’ (Round 6 on 11 May) and the ‘Kids’ Day Round’ (Round 10, 8 June).  The Mother’s Day round is something that several clubs have already been doing in recent times, with mothers leading their sons out to the middle at the start of matches. Club Rugby supports these, as a way to generate interest and wider support and engagement those weekends. And who knows, it could spread with new ideas.

Mother’s Day at Helston Park last season.

SCHOOL RUGBY

Scots College and St Pat’s Silverstream – a short sentence that has had a familiar ring to it in recent times. So when the school competition rolls around much attention will turn to who amongst the other First XVs can rise up and challenge this pair. Most likely to do so are the other traditional ‘big two’ Wellington College and St Pat’s Town. For Coll, much depended on the shoulders of Jacob Kennedy and Jack Riley last year, so this could fall to them building their team around Archie Sims who will be year 12 this year. Their U15s won their grade so some new young players coming through. St Pat’s Town were disappointing in 2023, and the only way is up. If  the young Rongotai College side that assembled in 2023 can find belief and confidence they can press hard, same with HIBS and Wairarapa College, the latter particularly so at home. Tawa College had just one year 13 player last season, so a dark horse. Rumours that Rathkeale were contemplating the switch to Wellington have seemingly come to nothing for 2024 and they’re staying with CNI, but aren’t overly happy with the travel in that competition and are pushing for changes to reduce that.

 When Wellington College and Tawa College met at the end of July last year. 

THE LIONS ROAR

The Wellington Lions got the speed wobbles towards the latter part of the 2023 season, losing their record 19-game NPC winning streak and the Ranfurly Shield to Hawke’s Bay in one ‘crack’. Then losing their semi-final to the same team and bowing out of the NPC. Fans will be hoping that in 2024 they can recreate their previous form, and at their new fulltime home of Jerry Collins Stadium. They will also have a new Head Coach, last year’s assistant coach Alando Soakai, following the departure of Tamati Ellison. Already a much-anticipated match against last year’s champions Taranaki whom they didn’t meet at all in 2023.

Du Plessis Kirifi leads the Hurricanes out on to Porirua Park against North Harbour this past season.

HURRICANES AND HURRICANES POUA

Both these teams will likely be up against it in 2024. Our prediction is for lean seasons for both. Neither seemingly have the experienced and top line players required to rise to the level of the leading teams in the games that matter, namely the Chiefs, Blues and Crusaders/ Matatū. Of course, hoping this is a wrong prediction, and the Hurricanes will have some typical stirring and exciting wins along the way. The men’s side will be missing such players as Ardie Savea and Dane Coles but will hopefully have TJ Perenara back from long-term injury (see below). A new coach in Clark Laidlaw too, with a noted background coaching sevens. The Poua is stacked with talent and promising players, but don’t appear to have as many battle hardened forwards and game drivers in the backs as the top teams.

Hurricanes fans will be hoping to cheer the loudest in 2024.

INJURY RETURNS

Two of Wellington rugby’s favourite players, TJ Perenara and Ayesha Leti-L’iga, are recuperating nasty long-term injuries. Perenara missed the entire season in 2023 but has been working hard for a comeback after sustaining an Achilles injury on the previous year’s All Blacks end of season tour. He is in the Hurricanes so we will have to see when he returns and how he will go. In July he signed a two-year contract extension with the Hurricanes so his commitment for a comeback and to add to his 151 games for the franchise is total.  His return could be through Northern United as well. Leti-L’iga missed the Wellington Pride’s campaign with an ACL knee injury and with her rehab continuing was a notable omission from the recent Hurricanes Poua squad for this reason. By our count, Leti-L’iga has scored 188 tries in 76 women’s club rugby matches for Ories, so just a dozen away from an unprecedented milestone.

The return of TJ Perenara would be welcome.

PROVINCIAL SEVENS

The demise of representative sevens rugby and the absence of any Wellington teams at this year’s re-booted Central 7s tournament was a tad disappointing. Surely there would have been 24 men’s and women’s players plus a few officials and a borrowed van or two who would have been keen to don their provincial colours and make the trip to Palmerston North recently?  Wellington weren’t alone, other unions such as Auckland didn’t do sevens this year either. But the word is that the NZRU Provincial Sevens will be returning this coming season, which should mean the return of a sevens programme in Wellington. Similarly, another official or unofficial club sevens tournament in November/December in Wellington would be welcome.

The winning Central region Wellington 7s team 2019.

MANAWATU COMPETITION EXPANDING

The return of the Feilding Old Boys Oroua and Linton Army clubs for 2024 was recently announced by Manawatu, bringing the MRU Senior A [Premier] competition back to nine teams. The draw isn’t out as this is published but the union announced a 16-week competition starting on 29 March. A strong MRU competition is not only good for the province but the wider region, and as we have noted previously, the MRU is producing more New Zealand age-grade representative players than Wellington at a rate of 3:1 at present. Although they couldn’t field a representative U18 team in 2023.

Logan Henry gets a pass away for Feilding Old Boys Oroua against College Old Boys in 2021.

THE LAWS OF THE GAME

Don’t expect changes here for 2023, as NZ Rugby have already confirmed that last years lowered tackle height will remain in place and World Rugby kicking off its usual post-World Cup law review as well. Wellington is well-served by its referees, but are there some tweaks that could be made to benefit the game at our level?

HOBM see red against Wainuiomata last year.

ALL BLACKS

Winning the Rugby World Cup would have been the booster rocket the All Blacks needed as they prepare to usher in a new cycle starring Razor Robertson as head coach and a bunch of new players with several retiring or ‘heading overseas’.  It would be good if the Wallabies can improve as well, sans Eddie Jones who is off to Japan. The biggest question here though is will international rugby be watchable again. Most diehard and fairweather fans alike can put up with all the stoppages and TMO decisions watching the Rugby World Cup, but sentiment suggests less so for both groups in less meaningful internationals where fans can switch channels and watch the NRL.